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Welcome, Introduction, andOverview of the 2003 Workshop

“The Conservation and Ecology of California’s Maritime Chaparral”

Grey Hayes Coordinator

Elkhorn Slough Coastal Training Program

Coastal Training Program

Science

Policy

Management

Sustain NaturalResources

Ecology and Conservation

Management Policy

Ecology and Conservation

Management Policy

Ecology and Conservation

Restoration Conservation Easements Conservation PlanningRegulations

Ecology and Conservation

Management Policy

Restoration

Exotic Species

Fire Safety

Erosion Control

Buffers

Reserve Design

Recreation

Appropriate DisturbanceLandscaping

Conservation Easements Conservation PlanningRegulations

Endangered SpeciesRegulations

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Why Maritime Chaparral?

• Highest number of the Monterey Bay’s most imperiled species

• Key to protecting Elkhorn Slough’s watershed

• New ecological information

• Interesting challenge to human/wild interface

Reasons to protect maritime chaparral• Ground water: maritime chaparral blankets well-drained

soils that may be important groundwater recharge areas

• Fragile erosive slopes: maritime chaparral is good at holding in place poor soils that otherwise easily erode

• Fire: maintaining fire safe dwellings in and around maritime chaparral is expensive

• Beauty: maritime chaparral is beautiful, affords good views, and supports a wealth of drought-resistant horticulturally significant species

• Weeds: In tact maritime chaparral resists invasion

• Difficult and expensive to restore

Goals of 1st Workshop• Create consensus and understanding of a definition of

the term “maritime chaparral”

• Convene the leading researchers working in this habitat, in order to

• Educate employees of regulatory agencies on the basic ecology and conservation of maritime chaparral

– Create web and other materials for reference– Create a network of experts willing to answer future questions

about maritime chaparral

Eric Vandyke

• Definition and extent of maritime chaparral in California

• Maritime chaparral in the Prunedale Hills is being lost to oak invasion

• Ridgeline maritime chaparral is more stable

Maritime Chaparral Definition• Between Sonoma and Santa Barbara Counties• Climate characterized by cool, foggy summers,

unlike the more common inland chaparral• Three levels of hierarchy:

– Manzanita and/or Ceanothus dominated “alliances” that occur repeatedly over a large landscape

• Hooker’s, Toro, Pajaro manzanitas– Special stands (few patches remaining)

• Alameda manzanita– Rare shrubs

• Santa Cruz Mountain and Little Sur manzanitas

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Pajaro Hills Research

1931 1999

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Results:65% Chaparral Loss (~1%/yr)

40

75

110

145

180

1925 1945 1965 1985 2005

Year

Acr

es

Tom Parker

• We are in the center of global manzanita (Arctostaphylos) diversity

• Manzanitas have a mutualistic relationship with fungi, these same fungi also aid conifer invasion of chaparral

• Maritime chaparral is fire dependent, but consideration for season, size, and frequency of fires important

Arctostaphylos

• One species, A. uva-ursi, is found across the northern hemisphere, in subalpine, north temperate forests, and the California coast.

• All other species are entirely or partially found in California.A. uva-ursi

Arctostaphylosin westernNorth America is concentrated on the central California coast.

Most of these species occur in maritime chaparral.

What do these places have in common?

Nutrient Poor and Acidic Soils

Disturbance by Fire

How do manzanitas tolerate acidic, nutrient poor soils?

Manzanitas have a mutualistic relationshipwith fungi.

Together they form mycorrhizal roots.

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How do Manzanitas Survive Fire?

Obligate seeders are killed byfire and completely dependupon seedlings after fireto reestablish their populations.

Burls and root crowns permitmany species (facultativesprouters) to resproutafter fire. They also haveseedlings establish followingfire, but usually at much lower rates.

No Burl

Burl

Implications for management

Fire Regime

Frequency

Intensity

Season

Area

Too frequent, obligate seeders can not form seed banks. Too infrequent, conifers can invade many sites. Off season, wrong intensity, too small an area, all of these can impact the recovery of the chaparral stands.

Claudia Tyler & Dennis Odion

• Post-fire succession of maritime chaparral vegetation at Burton Mesa– Ceanothus dies out, manzanitas increase

• Implications of prescribed fire on Morro manzanita– Morro manzanita has low % of viable seed,

requires 40+ years after fire to build sufficient seedbank to recover from fire

Burton Mesa

Immediate post-burn late fall 1987 2-3 years after fire

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5-6 years after fireStand Dynamics

Adenostoma fasciculatum

Ceanothus cuneatus

Arctostaphylos rudis

A. purissima

Helianthemum scoparium

C. impressus

Quercus agrifolia

10 20 30 40 50Years since fire

Percentcover

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

Morro manzanita

0

1

2

3

4

5

control heat +charate

heat only charateonly

wet,heat+char

perc

ent g

erm

inat

ion estimated % viability------------------------------------------------

Source: Tyler, Odion, and Meade, 1998 CDFG

Factors Controlling Germination

40 year old stand

Prescribed burn

0

100

200

300

400

preburn postburn

top 2.5 cmlower 2.5 cm

# vi

able

see

ds p

er 2

m s

q

Source: Tyler et al. 2000, CDFG

0-5cm depth

5-10 cm depth

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Source: Odion and Tyler, 2002 Conservation Ecology

MorroManzanitaper square

meter

Iceplant invasion

Morro Bay Manzanita Chaparral

Threats

-Stands may be too young to regenerate after fire.

-Exotic species invasion following fire or clearing.

Take home messages from 2003....

• We are in the center of the manzanita universe

• Maritime chaparral contains a number of rare and endangered species

• Maritime chaparral is fire dependent • What you see isn’t all that is there: seed

banks reveal diversity after fire • Caution about too long or too short fire

intervals

Since the 2003 Workshop

• Large areas of maritime chaparral protected by the Elkhorn Slough Foundation & Big Sur Land Trust

• Improvements in regulators’ approach to maritime chaparral

• One additional county government knows that they have this protected habitat: Marin

• Land managers planning longer fire return intervals

• Increased invasive exotic control

• Increased property rights concern with designation of maritime chaparral as ESHA in coastal zone

• Winter prescribed burn in maritime chaparral

• Continued destruction of habitat

Since the 2003 Workshop

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In Near Term• Conservation banking for maritime chaparral in Santa

Cruz and Monterey Counties

• Fort Ord HCP

• HCP’s and long-term management plans for significant maritime chaparral areas in Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara Counties

• Community education on significance and status of maritime chaparral in Big Sur

In your packet....and handouts

• Packet– Contact list of attendees

• 24 consultants; 17 land managers; 11 regulators; 12 researchers

– Agenda– Copies of 2 of today’s presentations

• Handouts– Peer-reviewed articles– Answers to common questions– Field trip information

Questions for today

• What regulatory tools are currently being used to protect maritime chaparral?

• Are conservation techniques maintaining and restoring the entire suite of maritime chaparral species?

• How do we better plan for the protection of maritime chaparral in the future?